Brown & Beyond
by Santiva Potter
Summary: A collection of one shots following Kat and Patrick through the ups and downs after high school.
1. Anxiety

**Disclaimer: **I do not own anything of 10 things I hate about you

**Brown & Beyond **

**By: Santiva Potter **

**Summary: **A collection of one shots following Kat and Patrick's journey after high school

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Anxiety

The first year wasn't so bad, but it had started off with a little anxiety.

The day she left was particularly memorable. They had somehow—and quite miraculously avoided any discussion of the dreaded Ivy League to the east. He knew Kat. She was going and he was in no place to stop her—even if it were possible. But those last were filled with a stirring tension that had built day in and day out, until they collided in this moment.

The roar of his bike came as she was packing her last bag into the back of her father's SUV. As she closed the trunk, he swaggered off the bike and headed towards his brunette. Kat knew full and well that Patrick was here, but she refused to acknowledge his presence until he was pressed against her back, his scent smothering her into near bliss.

They stood there together, still in the world, waiting for the other to begin, but there was no smart remark she could think of or an innuendo he could use to break the ice—well there was, but Patrick figured he was deep enough as it was.

Sticking with their infamous no talking policy, he placed his hands on her shoulder and slowly turned her to face him. But the fact of the matter was that she was scared. Not nervous, not anxious but flat out scared, terrified even. Kat had never invested so much of herself in a relationship and now, now she didn't know what to do. This past year she had lost her defiant, independent self and traded her for a much calmer, negotiable kind of girl.

"Patrick, I—"

But he silenced her with two of his fingers. He used that hand to cup the side of her face and brought her closer to him. She accepted the gesture and tugged lightly on his leather jacket, a favorite of hers, closing the space between them.

He started with her hair, nuzzling his nose lightly before traveling down her skin, brushing lightly over each of her eyes and make her whimper slightly as he passed over her lips.

"Mmm, I think I am going to miss this," he chuckled, "you being so horny all of the time."

A smile broke out on her face. "I'm the horny one?"

"Oh yeah Stratford. You've been trying to jump me for ages now. Ever since that night at the club…"

Kat broke away from him and laughed. "Oh yes, I was the one pulling out all of the stops that night."

She leaned against the hood of the trunk and sighed. He walked to her other side, facing the back window of the SUV and began doodling with the dirt on the window.

"I've been meaning to clean that," Kat mumbled absentmindedly, before lapsing back into silence.

"This isn't over, Stratford."

She looked up at him, as he stepped away from the car. P hearts K stood proudly on the window, making Kat smile.

"Is that so?" she teased.

"Possibly," Patrick responded in kind, bring Kat back into his arms.

"It's not over," he whispered softly, bringing her closer to him.

"Never had a doubt in my mind."

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Thanks for reading and please don't forget to review!

Sneak Peak: _"Easy," Patrick replied. "I mean I was bored for a few moments after you left but then Sandra called."_

Much Love,

Santiva Potter


	2. Holiday Fun

Disclaimer: I do not own anything of 10 things I hate about you.

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Holiday Fun

The beginnings of the first rift started at Thanksgiving. They had made plans for her to come home. He knew that he couldn't blame her completely. Contrary to popular belief, Kat wasn't so powerful that she could control the dreaded East Coast winters, but the delay wasn't doing any good for his conscious.

He had started off just fine, but they weren't clingy people. They didn't call every day or set up some obsessive video camera system. But sometimes, usually in the wee hours of the morning, he wondered what their relationship would be like if that were the case.

It was safe to say that by the time Christmas arrived he was anxious. A "cool" anxious his closed friend Leslie had declared—a favorite of his since he was so "damn used to keeping everyone out." But when December 19th arrived, he found himself back in the Stratford house, leaning against the banister with his causal smirk and an apple in his hand.

"Well don't you look comfortable," Kat noted sardonically as she descended down the stairs. She had arrived a few hours ago, but had been smothered by her father, and this was officially their first moments alone.

"So how was it?" Kat asked, snatching his apple and making her way to the kitchen.

"Easy," Patrick replied. "I mean I was bored for the first few minutes after you left, but then Sandra called. Then when I was done with her there was Marissa and Karen and Jess—"

Kat whacked him before he could finish. But the tiny smirk on her face kept Patrick going.

"—And then after Chelsea there was Veronica," he continued adding a whistle for effects. "Now, she was beauty."

"Has anyone told you how full of it you are?" Kat jarred.

Patrick crept behind her and wrapped an arm around her waist. "Jealous Stratford?"

She turned to face him and frowned. "Appalled is more like."

"Well if you must know," he began, tightening his grip around her waist, "It wasn't all fun and games."

"Oh really?"

She was starting to forget how to breathe. Patrick was quickly closing the space between them and starting his attack on her lips. It all started gentle as always, but a little sexual tension goes a long way….

"There were some moments," he whispered, "when I…actually..."

He stopped to look straight into her eyes, framed her face with his hands and continued, "Missed you."

His lips followed quickly after the words and Kat knew the verbal teasing was done. Four months away had taken a toll on the both of them. The only energy she had was for some private time with Patrick.

"I suppose I missed you too," Kat replied.

He cut off her smirk with another kiss, this time much more dominant and searing. Patrick's hands began to wander leaving a path of fire behind. He was instantly granted access into her mouth, but the pair fought for dominance. Patrick quickly took over when he pushed her against the pantry and began to grind his body into hers. A groan was released from Kat's lips and Patrick broke off the kiss for more air.

"Katarina Stratford," he mused appreciatively, before continuing his attack on her lips. She soon began to respond in kind, grinding against him and running her hands over his body, re-memorizing the rough contours. They had to pause numerous times for air and soon Patrick found himself in one of the kitchen chairs, Kat comfortably straddling him and grinding intentionally into him. His jacket was off and his shirt was pushed up revealing half of his firmed chest. Kat, likewise, had her shirt well above her waist, as Patrick massaged her bare breast.

"Patrick!"

As the groaning became louder, his resolve had fizzled. He wanted Katarina Stratford and he wanted her now. He wanted to make her scream and he didn't care who was watching or listening.

"Kat, please," he groaned, grinding harder against her.

She groaned in approval and Patrick picked her back up and sat onto the kitchen table.

"Patrick," she moaned between kisses. "Condom."

He grunted in understanding and pulled the wrapper out of his back pocket before climbing over her frame. Her legs wrapped tightly around his waist and her shirt officially flew off. It was also at that moment that a plate dropped behind them.

"Dad!" Kat shrieked as she looked up to see her father, who was gasping in horror at the two of them. In great haste, she threw her shirt back over her torso, and sat up, nearly slamming into Patrick's chest. And as he watched Mr. Stratford's face turn from red to a dark fuchsia-purple, he knew that his Christmas was looking a hell of a lot less merry.

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Hope you enjoyed it! Thanks, as always, for reading and please don't forget to review!

Sneak Peak: _"Excuse me! I'm not the one ditching class every other day so I can screw my boyfriend," Patrick snapped back. "I have a job!"_

Much Love,

Santiva Potter


	3. Be Mine?

**Disclaimer: **I do not own anything of 10 things I hate about you.

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Be Mine?

"Who are you and what the hell have you done with my best friend?"

That was a phrase that Patrick was quite used to. He was also quite used to Leslie going off on her spats. She, like the rest of her sex, was over-dramatic and tended to blow things out of proportion.

"Les, will you give it a break?" It was a pointless question. The pair had known each other since they were three and he technically already knew what was to come next.

"No Patrick! You've been moping on this couch doing nothing—"

"Excuse me! I'm not the one ditching class every other day so I can screw my boyfriend," Patrick snapped back. "I have a job!"

"And she were here you'd be skipping work every other day, trying to get some. And the difference between you and I would be that you would lose your job and still not get any sex."

"Real cute Leslie."

"I'm serious, Patrick. You do realize this is pathetic, right? Your driving me nuts."

"Payback for the last 19 years."

"Fine," she huffed, pulling a white envelope out of her purse and handing it to him. "Now we're even."

"What is this?"

"Eyes, Patrick. I know God gave them to you."

He opened it and found a round trip ticket to Providence, Rhode Island.

"What the hell?" he stuttered.

"Make it the best weekend, she's ever had," Leslie declared gathering her things. "And don't forget to be nice!"

And that in itself was the reason that instead of being under a 1970 Chevrolet, Patrick was now wandering around a whole new world: college—university to be exact. Everything was winding down when Patrick arrived. Only a few random students were still wandering around the campus, heads still stuck in books of course.

Brown was much bigger than Kat had led on. It was so easy to lost in the whole new world. He eventually found his way around the massive campus and to the dorm room that Kat was staying in, curtsey of Bianca.

When he reached her room, Patrick paused slightly at the door. It was ridiculous really, he had traveled all of this way, he surely couldn't just turn around now.

"Excuse me? Are you looking for someone?"

He turned to see a relatively pretty girl standing next to him. She was the typical heart-faced, blue eyed, raven haired girl. She was wearing a long sleeved shirt, and plaid shorts that seemed a tad bit out of place for the season.

"Yeah, I'm here to see Kat. Are you her roommate?"

"Ah no," the girl responded, "but I am a friend. And you are?"

Patrick tried to keep form smiling. This girl didn't look like a friend of Kat's, much pretty to be a _good _friend anyway, but he kept his peace. "Verona."

"Verona? Hmmm, I don't think she's mentioned you," she pondered. "Wait a minute, _Patrick?_"

He smiled generously.

"Oh I see," she continued, "So I guess I tell Georgina to find a spare bed tonight."

"You could put it that way," Patrick grinned.

Kat's friend laughed, "I guess it'll be Kat's lucky day. You two have fun."

Turning his back to the girl, Patrick pounded at the door. "Stratford, open up!"

"Patrick?"

She had barely anytime to recognize his face, they were all too soon attached by the lips and hips. She was dragging him into her dorm, her fingers laced in his wild hair. They stood in the middle of her dorm room attacking each other, until air became essential.

"Hi," she breathed heavily.

"Hi," he replied, dipping down to place kisses on her neck. His deep voice was laced with want and sent shivers up her spine. How was able to do that with just _one_ word?

"Miss me Verona?" Kat mused as sighed in pleasure.

"Stratford, you have no idea," he growled in between kisses. "Bed."

Hours later, when the intense love-making had ended, Patrick found himself laying on a small twin-sized bed, with a very much _naked _Kat curled under his arm. He rolled over gently to his side and groaned. It was nearing midnight, and he still couldn't sleep.

"10, 9, 8. Ugh, 8:55!" he groaned.

"Was it worth it?" came the soft reply.

"Hmm?"

"Was it worth it? I mean you never did really say why you were here," Kat mumbled.

"What do you want a federal report? Why is it so surprising that I came to see you?"

"Patrick please, you flew all the way from San Francisco!"

"Kat I know how long that flight is, thank you very much!"

"I'm just saying that this isn't you! That flight was probably over a hundred dollars."

"Oh, that's a laugh," he grumbled. "Y'know most chicks appreciate when their boyfriends—"

"I do appreciate it. I'm just a little confused.."

"I missed you, alright? Is that plain enough for your Ivy league brain? I need to see you, talk to you and no a fucking telephone call wouldn't—"

She cut him off with a strong kiss, laced with her lust, appreciation—and was that maybe love he detected. Surely not, Katarina Stratford couldn't be falling in love with him….

She leaned her body against his side and rested her head in the crook of his neck. "Everything here is perfect now."

Patrick snorted, "The brochure would have told you that Kat."

She shook her head. "The only thing this place was missing was your sorry butt."

Patrick chuckled. "Well I know where you'll find me."

"Me too—in my dorm room, naked."

His arms quickly snaked around her waist and brought her to his lap.

"Naked, huh?" he teased as she moaned in pleasure. "How naked?"

She smiled devilishly and leaned forward wrapping her arms around his neck. "How long are you here for?"

"The entire weekend," Patrick answered, flipping them over. "So you should cancel your plans now, I don't ever plan on leaving this dorm room."

"I'm sure my roommate will get over it."

"That's the spirit," he smiled. "And Kat?"

"Hmm?"

She looked so beautiful down there, beneath him and the words stopped on his tongue. There were almost there, waiting to be said, but something in his gut told him to wait. He wanted her to awake and fully attentive. He wanted to do it right. Not in an overblown sappy way, but in an honest manner. He wanted her to know for sure that he was completely serious. So he opted with the next best choice.

"Happy Valentine's Day."

* * *

Thanks for reading and please don't forget to review!

Sneak Peak:_ Patrick paused here to close the book and stared the professor dead in the eye before continuing, "O you the doors of breath, seal with a righteous kiss, a dateless bargain to engrossing death._

Much Love,

Santiva Potter


	4. Romeo, O Romeo?

**Disclaimer: **I do not own anything of 10 things I hate about you

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Romeo, O Romeo?

Back when he was in high school, Patrick couldn't stand Shakespeare, the Taming of the Shrew being the sole exception—but there was no room for Hamlet, Othello and surely not Romeo & Juliet the "greatest love story of all time!"

Barf.

In college it didn't change much, he still thought Romeo was the biggest pansy alive and Paris the world's biggest pedophile. He still thought their love was flimsy at best. Who falls in and out of love that quickly? First Rosaline, then Juliet, had the prick lived any longer there would have been a Josephine and a Margaret! But now he sort of got it—just a little. His English 201 class was investigating the tragedy of Romeo & Juliet. Was it really a tragedy, the professor had long ago proposed. The only tragedy Patrick could see was the fact that he had to go over this story _again_.

And the girls in this English class granted they were slightly younger than him, made him feel like he was back in Padua. "Oh the romance! The passion!"

"Verona!"

His attention swayed back to the professor, a small lumpy man, who stood at the front of the class with a distinct frown on his face. Yup, he was definitely back at Padua.

"Since you were so attentive during our discussion, why don't you take up on the next lines!"

He shifted down to his book, not exactly sure where they had been reading, but thankfully the brunette sitting next to him slyly pointed to the verse.

"And shake the yoke of inauspicious stars from this world-wearied flesh. Eyes, look your last. Arms, take your last embrace. And, lips," Patrick paused here to close the book and stared the professor dead in the eye before continuing, "O you the doors of breath, seal with a righteous kiss, a dateless bargain to engrossing death."

He cocked an eyebrow at the man, challenging him for more. The professor frowned but relented and called on the next student.

"Ms. Callaway, if you would continue, please."

Why did he know that by heart? The same reason he knew how to cook birthday cakes, clean a bathroom _correctly, _and that Tim Gunn co-hosted Project Runway. Leslie Davis, whom he'd befriended in their diaper days, was an English major at San Francisco State University and it was safe to say that she had a thing for dead English poets.

"_You've got to get out of this modern day mindset, Pat or you will hate it. Think about the era that Shakespeare was writing in, how love was handled back then." _

_Patrick snorted. "Please, Leslie, these kids were horny as fuck, and our parents are hypocrites for complaining about us!" _

"Now before class ends, I want to turn back to an area that we had to skip yesterday," Patrick's professor continued. "Everyone please turn with me to Act 2, Scene 2 starting with the first verse."

Patrick turned to the page and internally groaned. _Shoot me now! _

"He jests at scars that never felt a wound. But soft! What light through younder window breaks? It is the east, and Juliet is the sun…"

There was gushing all around him and Patrick couldn't wait until he was relinquished from this hell. Every girl wanted Prince Charming to come to their bedside window. Perhaps even climb a large tower to reach them. _Only if you let your hair down Rapunzel. _

The fact was he knew there was nothing fun about climbing terraces to reach "Sleeping Beauty". Kat's wall at the Stratford's place had taught him that quick. His first time had been an interesting experience. He'd nearly broken his wrists trying to tell her that he liked her, although the look on Bianca's face when she'd walked in on them had been pretty priceless.

Finally a long bell tone sounded off in the room, signaling the end of class. Patrick grabbed his things and headed to his only sanctuary in this school: the garage.

College hadn't been Patrick's first choice. It was Kat and Leslie bugging him about it in the beginning. Neither of them wanted him to just lounge around while they were at their schools. But all Patrick wanted to do was open a garage. To him, that required no college education. But his first year of work taught him that maybe college could be worth trying. Kat was on the other side of the country, so he wouldn't be seeing her anytime soon and as much as he loved the guys down at the shop, he did miss seeing the few friends that he had.

Like the blonde retard, who was dancing about in the middle of the garage.

"Kirk, man, what the hell?" Patrick laughed.

"Awh, Patty," Kirk laughed. "How was class?"

Patrick shook his head and let the nickname jab go. "Ugh, English."

"Oh cheer up, Romeo. But soft! What light through thou younder window breaks?"

"Oh shut it, will you!"

"Oh don't worry Romeo, I'll be here for all of your woes."

"Seriously, dude, you need to shut the hell up. You look like a retard."

"I think he's up for a sex change!" Jack, another classmate of his, hollered from under a Chevy.

"You suckers are just jealous that you don't have my flow!"

As Patrick rolled his eyes, he felt a familiar buzz in his left pocket. He pulled out his phone and felt the air leave his chest. It wasn't the text message that he had been expecting, but instead a calendar reminder—Kat's birthday to be specific.

"You alright man?" Kirk asked, noticing the shift in Patrick's demeanor.

"Yeah, I'm fine," Patrick answered. He slid the phone back into his pocket. There was no point in dwelling in the past. After all, it had been three months. It was time they got over each other—or really, he got over her. There was no way that she was still pinning over him--not that _he_ actually pined over girls. In anyevent, Kat was probably too worked up over another one of her clossal causes. He'd be an idiot to have thought that this would have never happened. She had plans for her life. She wanted to save the world, and he just wanted to coast through life. They were two different people. No matter how badly he wanted it_--if _he wanted it_,_ they were always destined to fail.

So he slid under his latest project, a 1970's Mustang and immersed himself in the engine—the only thing left that still seemed to make sense.

He never noticed the people starting to trickle out of the garage and around eight, Patrick reemerged, closing the hood to see Kirk waiting patiently for him.

"What's up man?"

"Grab your coat. You're showering at my place."

"For what?"

"Leslie is sick of your mopping ass, so we're taking you out to the club."

After negotiating—really arguing, with Leslie, the trio settled on a bar not too far from the SFSU campus. It wasn't that Patrick didn't want to hang with his friends, but the fact of the matter was they were _dating _and while he knew they meant well, sometimes space and silence was a virtue. But Leslie Davis would have none of it. They weren't leaving until he hooked up with somebody.

"So you're advocating one-night stands now," Patrick teased.

"I'm advocating for your sanity. Drastic times call for drastic measures," Leslie snapped before being interrupted by the waitress.

"Is there anything else you need?" the young woman asked. It didn't go unnoticed by anyone at the table who the "you" was addressed to.

"No, we're all good here," Leslie snapped, finally gaining the waitress' attention.

"She was cute," Kirk encouraged, when the waitress had left.

"Not you too," Patrick growled.

"Just talk to her. Get her number. No one is forcing you to have sex."

He looked back over at the retreating waitress. Taking a final swing of his beer, Patrick stood up. "Ah, what the hell."

Her name turned out to be Mandy, and for all intensive purposes she was a good lay, but that didn't help his problem.

Patrick slipped out of Mandy's place in the wee hours of the morning. Happy to be back on his bike, he went with the cool wind, and wasn't surprised when he ended up at the beach. It had been awhile since Patrick had trotted down here. And he knew that a part of that was because of Kat. _Oh hell, it is because of Kat. _

It was pathetic and he knew it, pinning over some girl who had probably long forgotten about him, but how could he not? Kat was like a breath of fresh air. So pure and real. Feisty, but beautiful. Everything else in comparison was dulled. Kat was like a drug and he was addicted.

He wandered to the very shore and let his mind wander. His thoughts kept surfacing back to his English lesson, and he played with the thoughts of the silly romance. What if someone had just knocked some sense into those two and ended their relationship before it began? Surely they'd both still be living. Surely they'd both would have avoided the heartache. Surely…

Patrick sighed loudly and leaned back into the sand. What if Juliet had called for Romeo on that balcony and he never came?

"_O Romeo, Romeo! Wherefore art thou Romeo?" _

Surely, he knew the feeling.

* * *

You know, I'm really not a big fan of Romeo & Juliet or Shakespeare for that matter, but this worked a lot better than I thought it would. Thanks for all of your previous reviews. I really do loves those so keep 'em coming. I do have some bad news, my computer has recently fallen ill, we're not sure if it's a virus (cross your fingers that it's not) but I'm not 100% sure when the next updates for Brown & Beyond or In the Sky with Diamonds will come. But while you're waiting, if you haven't, you should definitely check out In the Sky with Diamonds and hopefully I'll be back with little damage. :)

Sneak Peak:_ "So tell me Patrick," she said with a ghostly smile, "what is it that you're_ really _afraid of?"_

Much Love,

Santiva Potter


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